In the spotlight
Aïcha Macky - Zinder
Film still: Zinder, dir. Aïcha Macky
Dedicated to the youth of Niger
Filmmaker Aïcha Macky comes from Zinder herself, but gaining access to the youth gangs that rule Niger’s third largest city was still a challenge. “It took me two years to even be able to show up with a camera. Later, the gang members told me that they had doubted my sincerity. They suspected me of working with a rival drug dealer or of being police officer trying to infiltrate the gang. That’s why they made me undergo a hazing ritual. I had to smoke pot until I threw up. They also showed me their weapons. But I didn’t let that discourage me.”
The gang that caught her attention goes by the name Hitler. “I wondered whether Nazism existed in Zinder,” Macky explains what drew her to them. “Most gang members have a swastika on their back or chest, tattooed or branded into their skin using molten plastic. But they don’t actually know who Hitler was. “He is one of Shaka Zulu’s cousins,” someone told me.
The fact that the documentary filmmaker was met with suspicion is no surprise. The residents of Zinder, and in particular the Kara Kara district, have long been depicted in a negative light by the press. Located at the intersection of dusty desert roads, the neighborhood was once founded as a leper colony and was largely left to deteriorate.
Here, terrorist organization Boko Haram is met with sympathy, while petrol smuggling and sex work run rampant.
“When I went to see the district for myself, I did encounter young troublemakers and criminals, but I also met people who were fighting for a dignified existence in a hostile environment. That part of their reality is often overlooked. I wanted to shine light on that, without trivializing gang violence. I made this film for my country and dedicated it to the youth of Niger. I think the story also resembles the struggles experienced by kids in the suburbs of France and the United States. My film speaks to both worlds. We have to find our way out of this together or go down together.”
Aïcha Macky speaking at the Industry Talk: My film, my vision! Maintaining the editorial voice within international collaborations - IDFA 2021
Macky reaches Western audiences by showing the film at festivals, but screening Zinder in her home country has proven to be a lot more complicated. “We have no cinemas in Niger, except for one private theater, but that is too expensive for most people who can only afford to spend one dollar a day. That’s why we looked for a more accessible distribution channel. We are showing the film on small screens in long-distance buses. We have made increased volume options and a microphone available, so that travelers can hear who is speaking during the debate after the screening.”
“We have also set up a mobile cinema in a caravan and want to use it to reach all eight regions of Niger, with three screenings per region. The screenings will take place at fairs, in schools and in neighborhoods that face the same type of problems that Zinder does. Each event will take a group of young people as our point of contact. Together with them, we organize the screenings and the discussions afterwards.”
The preview in capital city Niamey was attended by 2,060 viewers. “At the beginning of 2023, we could already count 10,000 people who have seen the film. Our goal is to reach one million people within three months.”
Zinder has been well received in most cases, in Macky’s experience. “Media has covered the film, artists have written poems about it, and young volunteers have started a new screening circuit using a small television screen parallel to the caravan in the areas around Niamey. Their outdoor screenings are mainly focused on reaching schoolchildren and traditional leaders. There are, of course, people who find the film about Kara Kara’s youths humiliating. They are ashamed, and even furious. But I expected that to happen. I offer a glimpse behind the scenes of the city—showing a phenomenon that has never before been documented.”
By Edo Dijksterhuis